Transportation planning and engineering relies heavily on empirical data and extensive use of data analysis techniques that characterize and predict the flow of traffic in a geographic region. The use of these traffic-related data is not new. Traditional methods of empirical transportation data collection include questionnaires/interviews, count stations, speed sensors, video cameras, and other approaches that provide information about the movement of people and goods along a specific transportation corridor or throughout a region.
These traffic-related data, together with additional land-use planning and budget-related data, serve as input parameters for traffic planning and engineering analyses, enabling the identifying of traffic related issues and their solutions. These analyses can vary from qualitative evaluations of traffic characteristics and trends (e.g., that traffic volume along the I-75 corridor is increasing) to sophisticated models that quantify the traffic flow along multiple routes and predict the effects of changes to the transportation infrastructure, for example, road closings due to construction, road widening, traffic light sequencing, or the effect of a new commercial or residential construction project. As with most engineering analyses, the accuracy and usefulness of the results depends, at least in part, on the quality and quantity of input data. The high cost of data collection using the traditional methods identified above often requires planners and engineers to make liberal assumptions, extrapolations, and inferences that may lead to erroneous conclusions.
Additionally, measurements such as trends in speeds and travel times that quantify the effects of and identify the causes of congestion are needed. These data have traditionally been difficult to capture. In an effort to relieve traffic congestion, transportation planning and engineering groups spend billions of dollars each year on studies and research to help set priorities, define optimum solutions, and convey these solutions to legislators and the general public.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a cost effective system and method that collects and analyzes traffic data for use in traffic planning and engineering. The present invention provides a system and method that collects and processes information from wireless telephony systems and users of those systems to support transportation planning and engineering.